Industry Council May Fund Business Incubator

LEESBURG — The Lake County Private Industry Council on Wednesday tentatively approved allocating start-up funds for a business incubator project in Eustis designed to help new companies succeed.

Although it approved the concept, the council's board of directors will not earmark a specific amount of funding until questions about the project are answered, council director Robbie Baird said.

The incubator would provide centralized office services, secretarial help, business counseling and assistance in obtaining financing for new small businesses that meet project requirements. The incubator was initiated last fall by Eustis, the Eustis Chamber of Commerce and Lake Sumter Community College.

Incubator organizers requested $79,600 as seed money from the council to fund the incubator for two years. The money would cover costs of a full-time office manager and office equipment such as a photocopier and typewriter under the proposal to the industry council, said Bruce Staff, director of the college's vocational/technical education.

Because the council's directors are unfamiliar with the workings of an incubator, they formed a five-member subcommittee to study the incubator and assist drawing up a contract for the project, Baird said.

If it succeeds, the non-profit Eustis project would be the first incubator in Florida to offer shared services, counseling, below-market-cost office space and help to obtain financing, state officials say. Eustis has offered 5,000 square feet of city-owned office space for the incubator.

Baird said she did not know when a contract between the council and organizers would be completed. The Lake County Commission must give final approval to a proposed contract.

The incubator is unlike any other project the council has considered funding, Baird said. ''I think it's a unique concept.''

Most programs funded by the council are geared to help low income adults and youths learn job search skills and find employment. The industry council administers money from the federal Job Training Partnership Act, which pays an employer part of the cost of training and employing an adult who meets income eligibility guidelines. The council's budget is about $1.2 million a year.

The council could fund the project with money saved from previous budgets without affecting existing programs, Baird said. The incubator would be designed to create new jobs and prevent fledgling businesses from failing.

Organizers have said they hope to have the incubator operating by mid- summer. Industry council directors like the incubator idea but do not want to rush into an agreement without a thorough understanding of how it works, Baird said.

An executive committee formed to oversee the project would include two industry council directors in addition to members of the college, city, chamber and county Economic Development Council.